Tesla to build factory in China

The premium electric vehicle manufacturer has announced it plans to open a new factory in China by 2018.

As part of Tesla’s global expansion strategy, the new factory is to help the automotive manufacturer avoid import tariffs of around 25% and to maintain its objectives of a “global pricing policy”.

According to Robin Ren, Vice-President, Tesla, China already represents the largest automotive market in the world, and will soon also become the biggest for electric vehicles. Tesla aims to produce around 500,000 electric cars from its own plant by 2018.

Tesla’s Model X will be available for order in China near the end of this month, much sooner than initially planned, driven by the impressive number of reservations received for the Model 3.

The company is said to have signed a contract with Beijing municipal government to locate its headquarters in the city, where it opened its sales office in 2014, the year when the carmaker entered the Chinese market.